Feature
Vol 21, No. 07 - July 2017

44 countries to present their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals at HLPF 2017

Member States and leaders from civil society, business, UN System, specialized agencies, academia and other stakeholders will convene in New York from 10 to 19 July 2017 for the annual High-level Political Forum (HLPF) to review progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Forum is the central UN platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, its theme this year will be “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”. The Sustainable Development Goals to be reviewed in depth in 2017 are:

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 17, which aims to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, will also be considered in depth, as it is every year.

Various perspectives on these 7 SDGs are explored in a weekly HLPF Blog series that has seen 16 entries by a broad range of stakeholders. In the very first entry, the President of ECOSOC, Ambassador Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, highlighted a key function of the Forum: “Of vital importance will be to regularly hear from countries and other stakeholders about their experiences and lessons learned in implementing the SDGs. A key task of the HLPF, as the central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, is to provide a forum for inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue and to facilitate peer-learning and exchange,” he said.

In his blog entry, UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo emphasized the importance of continued commitment to the HLPF and the SDGs: “In a world that is going through rapid change, staying committed to the SDGs and multilateralism is essential to ensuring peace and security, the well-being of the planet and shared global prosperity,” he said.

Reviewing progress towards the SDGs

True to its multi-stakeholder nature, this year’s HLPF is expected to bring together Member States with representatives of the UN system, intergovernmental organizations and a record number of different experts and stakeholder actors. At the heart of the Forum are the Voluntary National Reviews of progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

44 Member States will be conducting such reviews during the three-day ministerial segment of the Forum from Monday, 17 July, to Wednesday, 19 July 2017. The reviews are state-led, involving ministerial and other relevant high-level participants, and provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

The Forum will also see the presentation of the Secretary-General’s Report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which provides a global overview of the current situation of the Goals, on the basis of the latest available data for indicators in the global indicator framework.

The outcomes of the historic Ocean Conference held on 5-9 June 2017 at United Nations Headquarter will be provided as an input to the HLPF for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. The Forum will look at the interlinkages of SDG 14 on oceans and seas with other SDGs as well as the follow-up to the Ocean Conference.

Ministerial declaration

The Forum will conclude in a negotiated ministerial declaration. The co-facilitators leading the consultations for the declaration in 2017 are Ambassador Jan Kickert, Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations and Ambassador Courtenay Rattray, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations. Draft Elements for the Ministerial Declaration can be viewed on the HLPF website.

Events and activities

The eight-day programme of the HLPF is filled with a wide range of events and activities. The ‘SDGs Learning, Training and Practice 2017’, a capacity building and networking event in finding solutions to sustainable development challenges, is offering a total of eight courses to registered HLPF participants between 10 and 14 July.

A Partnership Exchange special event on 17 July will review the work of multi-stakeholder partnerships and other voluntary initiatives in driving implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 and 17.

The second annual SDG Business Forum on 18 July will convene leaders from business and government, together with the heads of UN agencies, key international organizations, and civil society groups to delve into the role business will play in delivering the 2030 Agenda.

There will be over 100 side events taking place in the margins of the HLPF, as well an SDG live event with media interviews, brief panel discussions and other activities.